Cultivating as a Puppet Master

Chapter 221: Chapter 196: Wang Hui Wakes Up, The Two Pledge Allegiance

Lu Zhao himself did not ride the Golden Feather Bird. With a wave of his sleeve, the Cyan Feather Crane Puppet appeared before him. His figure blurred, and he landed steadily on the Crane Puppet’s back.

As his thoughts stirred, the Cyan Feather Crane Puppet let out a low hum. Its wings spread, and it was the first to soar into the sky, transforming into a streak of cyan-gray light as it sped towards Chen Country.

The Golden Feather Bird followed close behind, carrying Lin Qingshan and the other two. Its massive wings beat, stirring up powerful air currents as it closely trailed the Cyan Feather Crane Puppet. One puppet and one bird, one in front and one behind, carved two clear trails across the azure canopy, swiftly leaving the land of conflict far behind.

The journey home was long and tedious. On the back of the Golden Feather Bird, Lin Qingshan carefully tended to the still-unconscious Wang Hui. Mu Wan’Er was curled up beside her mother, her large eyes red and swollen. She stared blankly at the mountains and rivers rapidly passing below, her small hand clutching tightly to the corner of her mother’s clothes as if it were her only anchor.

Lin Qingshan looked at Mu Wan’Er’s haggard little face and his unconscious sister-in-law, then thought of his fallen brother. A mix of complex emotions churned within him.

One month later, when the familiar silhouette of Bixia Marketplace was faintly visible on the distant horizon, Lu Zhao guided the Cyan Feather Crane Puppet and the Golden Feather Bird to a slow descent in a secluded clearing in the mountain forest.

The Golden Feather Bird landed steadily. Lin Qingshan was the first to jump off, then he carefully helped Wang Hui down. Wang Hui had woken up half a month ago. Although she was still weak and her face was pale, her eyes were no longer vacant. A deep, unshakable sorrow and exhaustion simply clouded her features.

As her feet touched the ground, her body swayed slightly, and Lin Qingshan quickly steadied her. Mu Wan’Er also clung tightly to her mother’s hand, her small face tilted up, her eyes filled with dependence.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the clearing was stagnant. Wang Hui’s gaze was lowered, staring at the dirt beneath her feet in silence.

Lin Qingshan stood to the side, wanting to speak but holding his tongue, ultimately just standing guard over the mother and daughter in silence. Lu Zhao recalled the Cyan Feather Crane Puppet and the Golden Feather Bird into his Storage Bag and watched them quietly.

In the end, it was Lu Zhao who broke the silence. He looked at Wang Hui, his voice calm yet filled with concern. "Little Hui, Fellow Daoist Lin has surely explained the current situation to you in detail. The matter with the Le Family is resolved, and revenge for Fellow Daoist Mu has been served. Now, tell me your plans."

Upon hearing his words, Wang Hui’s body trembled slightly. She gently let go of Mu Wan’Er’s hand and pushed her daughter toward Lin Qingshan. Then, to the astonishment of both Lu Zhao and Lin Qingshan, her knees buckled and she knelt straight down before Lu Zhao!

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Three heavy kowtows, struck solidly against the hard ground, making dull thuds. Wang Hui’s forehead instantly turned red, and fine trickles of blood even began to seep out. She raised her head, eyes filled with tears, her voice choked but exceptionally clear:

"Uncle Lu! Thank you for saving our lives! If it weren’t for you... my daughter and I would have long been dead at the hands of those Le Family beasts! This kindness, this virtue, Little Hui... Little Hui will never forget it for all eternity!" The tears finally fell, mixing with the dust on her forehead, leaving two clear streaks on her pale face.

When she looked up, her forehead was stained with dust, and Wang Hui’s eyes held a deep sense of gratitude and shame.

Lu Zhao stood where he was, not stopping her, simply watching quietly as she finished. He could accept these three kowtows. Only after she was done did he step forward, and a gentle wave of Magical Power softly lifted Wang Hui to her feet.

"Get up," Lu Zhao’s voice softened. "Though we haven’t seen each other in over twenty years, I watched you grow up. Your parents, Wang Yun and Sister Fang, are my dearest friends, as close as my own siblings. Now that you’ve fallen into such hardship, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing? Saving you was simply my duty."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Do you want to take Wan’Er back to Changfeng County? If you do, I have some connections with the Zhou Family. If you go back, I can write a letter asking them to look after you and your daughter. After all, Changfeng County is your homeland. Your parents, Wang Yun and Sister Fang, are also there. If you two go back, you can reunite with them and enjoy family life."

"If you have other plans, you can tell me as well. Don’t feel you have to hold back."

Listening to Lu Zhao’s words, Wang Hui’s tears flowed even more freely. She shook her head, her voice filled with a sense of finality. "Uncle Lu, Little Hui will engrave your great kindness in my heart, but as for Changfeng County... Little Hui is truly too ashamed to go back!"

"Back then, I ran off with Mu Lang to Xuan Yang Immortal City behind my parents’ backs. I always thought I would make a name for myself out there, that I’d return to them in glory, but now..."

She glanced at the innocent daughter in her arms, then thought of her fallen Dao Companion, and her voice choked with sobs. "To have ended up in such a state, my Dao Companion dead, unable to even protect myself, and even burdening you, Uncle Lu, to risk your life to save me... How... how could I possibly have the face to go see my parents now?"

She raised her head and looked at Lu Zhao through tear-filled eyes, her gaze full of pleading. "Uncle Lu, I beg you to take us in! Little Hui asks for nothing else, only for a place to live and settle down by your side."

"When I... when I have some small achievements in the future, when I’m no longer in such a wretched state, then... only then will I have the courage to face my parents!"

"Besides... besides, my parents still have my younger brother to dote on them. Even without this unfilial daughter, they... they won’t be without someone to care for them in their old age..." By the end, her voice was as faint as the buzz of a fly, filled with endless guilt and self-loathing.

Lu Zhao looked at the almost stubborn shame and pleading in her eyes and fell silent for a moment. He could understand what Wang Hui was feeling—the heavy shackles of being too ashamed to face her people back home.

He finally nodded. "Very well. Since your mind is made up, you can settle down in Bixia Marketplace for now. Let me think about it, and I will arrange something for you to do."

Having settled the matter of Wang Hui’s stay, Lu Zhao’s gaze turned to the ever-silent Lin Qingshan. "Fellow Daoist Lin, what about you? Do you wish to return to Changfeng County?"

Hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Lin Qingshan’s face. He cupped his fist and said, "Replying to Senior, it would be a lie to say I don’t want to go back. Changfeng County is, after all, the place where I was born and raised."

"But I truly have no close relatives there anymore." A flicker of sorrow passed through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. "All I seek now is a stable place. And when it comes to stability, what place in this world could be more stable than by Senior’s side?"

He took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Lu Zhao, his posture even more reverent than Wang Hui’s had been. "I, Lin Qingshan, humbly beseech Senior to take me in! I am willing to follow you and serve you faithfully, to go through fire and water, without a moment’s hesitation!"

Lu Zhao looked at the deeply bowing Lin Qingshan before him, then at Mu Wan’Er, who was nestled tightly against her mother, her eyes showing a mix of unease and a flicker of curiosity. Finally, his gaze fell upon Wang Hui, her face pale but her eyes resolute.

He was silent for a moment before finally speaking slowly:

"In that case, you will all follow me into the Marketplace."

Lu Zhao turned and led the way towards Bixia Marketplace. Wang Hui quickly picked up her daughter, and Lin Qingshan followed close behind.

A new life—or rather, a life under the protection of Lu Zhao’s wing, filled with the unknown but also tinged with hope—was about to begin in this vast Cultivation marketplace.

And within Lu Zhao’s mind, calculations had already begun on how to settle them in and how to make use of these new hands.